AI-Enabled Learning Content Design Lead

Location: Manchester

Overview

At Freshfields, learning enables our people to perform at the highest level in an increasingly complex and fast-moving environment. As the firm evolves how it builds critical skills at pace and scale, we are investing in modern, high-quality, AI-enabled learning experiences that go beyond traditional e-learning.

Demand for innovative, digitally enabled learning content is growing significantly across the firm. This role will help shape how that demand is prioritised, governed, and delivered. It will ensure learning solutions are produced quickly, consistently, and to a high standard while remaining engaging, relevant, and impactful.

This is an opportunity to join a forward-thinking global Learning & Development team at a pivotal moment, helping to define the firm’s approach to AI-augmented content creation and learner-centred design to deliver learning that genuinely changes behaviour.

Role Summary

The AI-Enabled Learning Content Design Lead will help shape and deliver the firm’s approach to AI-enabled learning design, ensuring the Global L&D function can create high-impact learning experiences with pace, scale, and quality. The role combines deep instructional design expertise with generative AI, modern digital learning platforms, and a practical, delivery-focused mindset. It requires someone who can operate confidently at both the micro level of AI tools, functionality, and content build, and the macro level of strategy, vision, learner experience, and measurable impact.

This role is ideal for someone who

• Can set direction for AI-enabled learning design while staying close enough to the work to ensure quality, practical delivery, and alignment to relevant competencies.
• Uses AI strategically and responsibly as a core part of the learning design and production workflow.
• Can influence senior stakeholders, challenge briefs constructively, act as a consultant to diagnose the underlying issue, and translate business priorities into appropriate, scalable learning solutions.
• Brings excellent facilitation, translation, and connector skills, helping stakeholders understand what AI-enabled learning can look like now and how it is likely to evolve.
• The successful candidate will help transform how learning content is designed, built, governed, and experienced across the firm.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the design of engaging, outcomes-focused digital learning experiences for a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders, supporting understanding, retention, and sustained behaviour change across diverse audiences and topics.

Translate complex, technical, or high-stakes subject matter into clear, compelling learner journeys, linking content to relevant competencies without losing accuracy or nuance.

Define and embed responsible, effective use of generative AI tools to accelerate content creation, including text, imagery, video, voiceover, and interactive assets.

Establish quality standards, design principles, and governance for AI-generated learning content, ensuring consistency, brand alignment, and appropriate risk management.

Oversee the build of high-quality digital learning using industry-standard authoring tools, moving beyond standard templates where this improves learner experience and impact.

Support the design, maintenance, and continuous improvement of the firm’s mandatory digital learning programmes, ensuring they remain engaging, accessible, compliant, and aligned to business and regulatory requirements.

Lead the development of interactive formats such as scenarios, simulations, and branching journeys to deepen engagement and application.

Partner with senior stakeholders, sponsors, and subject matter experts as a trusted consultant, helping them identify the real issue, shape the brief, and select the most appropriate learning solution.

Use learner data, completion metrics, and engagement insights to evaluate effectiveness, demonstrate impact, and continuously improve learning content.

Track emerging tools and trends in AI-enabled learning technology, advise on what AI-enabled learning looks like now and how it is likely to evolve, and bring fresh ideas into the firm’s learning design roadmap.

Lead the vision for AI-enabled learning content, challenging and transforming current thinking around learner experience, impact, success measures, and scalable design.

Coach and upskill colleagues in AI-supported learning design approaches, building wider capability across the Global L&D team.

Manage external suppliers, freelancers or specialist partners where required to deliver complex or high-profile learning projects.

Deliver work in a flexible, responsive way, adapting approach and pace to the needs of different stakeholders, priorities, and delivery contexts.

Key requirements (Communication/skills/experience)

Essential

• Significant instructional and digital learning design experience, with confidence designing content for a variety of internal and external stakeholders and a proven ability to create learning that drives understanding, retention, and behaviour change.
• Proven experience using generative AI tools strategically and responsibly within learning design workflows, with sound judgement around quality, risk, refinement, and the wider strategic direction of AI-enabled learning.
• Advanced experience with digital learning authoring tools, such as Articulate Storyline/Rise, Gomo or equivalent, including the ability to guide others and move beyond out-of-the-box templates.
• Ability to lead complex or high-profile learning projects, balancing quality, pace, stakeholder expectations, and measurable impact.
• Excellent stakeholder management, facilitation, translation, connector, and influencing skills, with confidence advising senior, technical, and subject matter expert audiences on appropriate learning solutions.
• Highly organised, commercially aware, flexible in delivery style, and comfortable managing competing priorities in a demanding professional services environment.
• Strong understanding of AI governance, risk, quality assurance, and responsible use in a professional services context.
• Experience setting design standards, frameworks, or methodologies that improve consistency, scalability, and impact.
• Ability to connect learning content to competency frameworks, success measures, learner experience, and business impact.

Desirable

• Experience integrating learning content with LMS platforms; Workday Learning experience would be a strong advantage.
• Visual or media design capability, including experience with Adobe Creative Cloud, video, motion graphics, or animation tools.
• Familiarity with learning analytics, LMS reporting, and emerging standards such as xAPI.
• Experience using advanced interactivity, custom styling, or experimental learning formats.
• A naturally curious, experimental mindset, and strong interest in emerging learning technologies.

Inclusion

Freshfields is an equal opportunities employer and all applications received by the firm will be considered on the basis of their merit alone. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified individuals regardless of background. All offers of employment will be conditional on the candidate having/securing the right to work in the UK in the role in question and providing the firm with evidence of that right (as required by the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006) prior to employment commencing.

Freshfields is a Ban the Box employer. We ask applicants to disclose criminal convictions only if and when a conditional job offer is made. A conviction does not automatically lead to withdrawal of the offer: we make decisions on a case-by-case basis and take a number of relevant factors into account (e.g. the role you are applying for and the circumstances of the offence). You would have the opportunity to discuss the matter with us before we make a decision.